Well packers



March 4, 1958 c. c. BROWN WELL PACKERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11. 195] C/cero C. Brown v I INVENTOR.

fi l ATTORNEXJ March 4, 1958 c. c. BROWN 2,825,410

' WELL PACKERS Filed June 11, 1951' 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 zy l/A 2 -40 L z q 5 Z ZL/m ATTORNEYJ C. C. BROWN WELL PACKERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Cl ce'ro C Brown INVENTOR.

I I MJhA M fi ATTORNEYJ March 4, 1958 Filed June 11, 1951 iitates This invention relates to new and useful improvements in well packers.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved well packer which is arranged to be set and released by a rotation of the well conductor or tubing on which the packer is mounted, whereby the construction is simplified and positive control of the actuation of the packer is had.

An important object is to provide a well packer including, an anchoring assembly and a packing element, together with means actuated by the rotation of the conductcr or pipe on which the device is mounted for initially setting the anchoring assembly and thereafter distorting the packing element into sealing position; the setting of said anchoring assembly and distortion of the packing element being accomplished by a positive mechanical force which acts upon these parts to assure proper actuation thereof.

A further object is to provide a well packer, of the character described, wherein the anchoring assembly actuator and the packing element expander are mounted upon a member which is movable longitudinally of the assembly and element to co-act therewith when the conductor or pipe on which the apparatus is mounted is rotated, whereby setting and release of the apparatus may be accomplished by rotation in the proper direction of said conductor.

Another object is to provide a well packer, of the character described, wherein the longitudinally movable member which co-acts with and actuates the anchoring assembly and packing element may be either directly connected to the conductor or pipe on which the device is mounted in which event the supporting conductor undergoes longitudinal movement simultaneously with its rotative movement, or said member may be only rotatively coupled to the conductor whereby rotation of the conductor causes longitudinal travel of the member without any longitudinal movement of said conductor.

A still further object is to provide an improved well packer device which lends itself to the use of either a single packing element or to a plurality of packing elements, with means for positively distorting the element or elements into sealing position by a mechanical force applied to the element or elements when the conductor or tubing on which the device is mounted is rotated.

Still another object is to provide a packer, of the character described, in which the packing element is expanded mechanically, either by an expander which moves into the bore of the element or by the application of an endwise or axial force applied to the extremities of the packer.

The construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly in eleva- 2,825,410 Patented Mar. 4, 1958 ice 2 tion of the upper portion of a well packer, constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 1A is a similar view of the lower portion thereof,

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a schematic view, showing the well packer in an unset position,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the well packer in its set position,

Figure 5 is a view, partly in section and partly inelevation of the upper portion of a modified form of the invention,

Figure 5A is a continuation of Figure 5', illustrating the lower portion of said modification,

Figure 6 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view, taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5, and

Figure 7 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of still another modification wherein a second packing element is mounted above the anchoring assembly.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates a well conductor such as a well tubing (Figures 3 and 4) which is adapted to be lowered within a well bore 11. The tubing extends through a suitable swivel head 12 which is located on the floor of the derrick (not shown), whereby said tubing may be moved longitudinally within the bore and may at the same time be rotated. As shown in Figures 1 and 1A, the lower end of the tubing is coupled through a coupling 13 to a tubular support or mandrel 14 and mounted upon this mandrel is an anchoring assembly generally indicated at A and a packer unit B. A suitable tail pipe 15 of any desired length is connected to the lower end of the support or mandrel 14.

With the anchoring assembly and packer unit mounted on the support or mandrel which is in turn directly connected to the tubing 19, the apparatus may be lowered into the well bore 11 to the desired position. A rotation is then imparted to the tubing 10 and as will be hereinafter explained in detail, this rotation will accomplish a setting of the anchoring assembly A and will also effect a radial distortion or expansion of the packing unit into its sealing position. Release of the apparatus is accomplished by a reverse rotation of the tubing which retracts the packer unit and the anchoring assembly to allow the apparatus to be withdrawn from the well bore.

The details of construction of the anchoring assembly A and the packing unit B are clearly shown in Figures 1 and 1A. The anchoring assembly includes an upper expander 16 having a tubular extension 17 surrounding the support or mandrel, and said expander has connection with the support or mandrel by means of coarse threads 18 which engage complementary threads 19 on said support. The threads 18 and 19 are preferably left hand threads so that left hand rotation of the tubing 10 and support 14 while the expander 16 is held stationary will result in an upward longitudinal travel of the support with respect to the expander. The upper end of the tubular extension 17 of the expander 16 is formed with clutch teeth 20 which are complementary to and engage the clutch teeth 21 provided on the lower edge of a clutch collar 22, which collar is fastened to the support or mandrel 14. The pitch of the clutch teeth 29 and 21 is the same as the pitch of the interengaging teeth 18 and 19 so that when the support is rotated in a left hand direction the longitudinal movement of the mandrel 14 with respect to the upper expander 16 will cause the clutch teeth 20 and 21 to separate. When the clutch teeth are engaged as shown in Figure 1, it will be evident that a right hand; rotation of the support will impart a similar rotation to the expander 16 so that downward longitudinal movement of the support 14 with respect to the expander 16 is limited.

A slip carrier sleeve 23 has its upper portion surround- 7 support or mandrel 14.

expander by means "or" an inwardly projecting pin 26 V which engages a slot'27 in the external wall 1 7 on'said expander. The slip carrier sleeve 23 is formed with a' V plurality of openings or slots 28 within which gripping slips 29 are movable. Each slip member 29 has an upper tapered surface 30 which coacts'with the upper expander 16 so that a relative movement between the gripping slips and the expander will result in a radial outward movement of the slips. The lower portion of each slip has an inclined surface 31 which is adapted. to coac t'with alower expander 32. This lower expander surrounds the as well as the expansion of the packing element, is'accorn--' l sition. The position of the parts when set within the well mandrel or support 14 audisunc0nnected therewith, be-

ing suspendedfrom an external shoulderv 33 which engages a supporting 601121134 threaded into the lower end of the slip carrier sleeve 23. Obviously, movement of the loweriexpander relative to :the slip carrier and gripping slips will result in a radial expansion of the slips.

The lower expander 32 has a downwardly directed tubular extension 35 which has its lower end threaded into the upper retaining collar 36 of'the packer unit B. As is clearly shown in Figure lA'an elongate tubular body or sleeve 37 has 'its upper end slidable within the lower end '7 of the bore. of the extension 'and is suspended from a shoulder 36a, within the collar v36.- The lowerend of body 37 has connection with a packing element expander cone 38, the latter surrounding the support or mandrel 14. vA resilientiannular packing element 39 has its upper end. connected with aplurality of segments 40 which are interlocked by curved lugs 41 with the collar 36 at the upper end'of the packer unit B. The lower end of the packing. element 39 is'formed with a sealing lip 42 which overlies the upper portion of the expander cone 35.

The expander cone, as has been noted,'-surrounds the sup- 7 port 14 and has its lower end mounted upon bearings 43 'which are'supportedjn an enlarged abutment or collar.

44 formed on the upperend of the tail pipe section 15. Thus, theabutment44 is located at the lower end of the In the operation'ofthe apparatus, with the parts in the position shown in Figures 1 and 1A, the gripping slips 29 of the anchoring assemblyare retracted and the pack ing element or sleeve 39 is also in a normal unexpanded position. 'At this time the elutch teeth 20 and 21 of the 'tubularexpander 16 of the slip assembly and the clutch collar are engaged so that the entire assembly may rotate in onedirection as a unit. The slip carrier sleeve 23, is formed with the usual bowed friction'springs 23a which will engage'the wall of the well bore 10 or the wall of When the apparatus has reached the elevation at which the packer unit is to be set,'it is only necessary to impart a left hand rotation to the tubing 10. At this time the friction springs 23a will hold the slip carrier sleeve 23 each gripping slip results in a radialexpansion of said gripping slips which sets:the anchoring assembly.' There.- after, continued upward longitudinal movement of'the support 14 with respect to the now stationary packing element 39 results in the expanding cone 38 coacting with the packing element to move it to its radially expanded 1 position. p i p a V It will be evident that a setting of the gripping slips,

plished by merely imparting a rotation to the well tubing.

'A positive mechanical force is applied to the packing ele:

ment through the expander cone 3S and this assurespdsitive movement of thepacking element to its sealing pobore is schematically illustrated in Figure-4. When it is desired to release the device to remove the same" from the well, it is only' necessary to rotate the tubing in an opposite direction to cause the support or mandrel :14 to move longitudinally in a downward direction with respect to the anchoring assemblyandpacker units a -In the form .shownin Figures 1 to 4,'the mandrel ori support 14 has a direct connection to the well tubing 10, and therefore when the support moves longitudinally with respect to the anchoringassembly and packer' 'unit B, the entire tubing string must undergo a longitudinal movement. In order to obviate the necessityof the entire tubing string moving longitudinally in order to' actuate 'thedevice, a construction such as shown in Figures 5 and 5A may be employed. In this form, the lower end of the tubing isprovided with a tubular actuatingisleeve 10b' having coarse internal threads 18a formed within the lower end of its bore. These threads arefcornparable to the threads18 of the firstform and are adapted to engage complementary threads 19a formed on a support or mandrel 14a. The upper end of the mandrel 14a is provided with a guide collar 50 which is slidable within the bore of the tubing extension 10b.5 The' upper" end or the'anchoring assembly A is modified to eliminate the clutch teeth 20, and in this forrna tubular. extension 17a "provided on the upper expander 16'of the anchoring as-' sembly is formed with a connecting collar or coupling 51 which surrounds the tubing extension 1% and is rotatably coupled thereto by ball bearings 52. Thus, theftubing extension 10b is actually connected to the upper expander a 16 of the anchoring assembly although said .upper expander may undergo rotation with respect to' the tubing and'also with'respect to the inner actuating" member. or mandrel 14a. In this form, the expander 16 oftheslip assembly does not have connection with the mandrel.

' The. lower expander 32 of the assembly shown in Figure 5 is keyed 'by means of a: pin 53 and groove 54 to the mandrel or support 14a sojthat said lower. expander cana not rotate with respect to'said mandrel.

' a well pipe as the apparatus is lowered within such pipe;

against rotation and since this sleeve is keyed through pinsr26 and slots 27, the upper expander cone 16 of the anchoring assembly is also held against rotation. Since the mandrel or support 14 is directly connected with the tubing ltL the. left handrotation of the tubing will cause the support or mandrel to function as'anactuating element which will move longitudinally withrespect to the upper expander 16 of the anchoring assembly. The enlargementor abutment 44 on the lower end of the support or. mandrel 14 will then move upwardly with respect to the packing element '39 and with respect to the anchor? ing assembly A. As the expander cone 38 moves 'upwardly relativeto the packing element 39 a force is trans- :mitted through the packing element, through the'retaining collar 36 and tubular extension 35 to the lower expander 32. Upward movement of the expander 3 2 through its engagement with the inclined surface 31 of A packer unit B which'is modified in'construction is mounted on the mandrel 14a below the anchoring assembly A and includes a resilient packing sleeve 55 having its upper end connected to segments 56 which areinterengaged. with a retaining ring 57. i The retainingring.

is adapted to engage or contact a collar'58 secured-to thelower end of the extension'35a providedon'the lower v expander 32 of the anchoring assembly. The lower end of the packing sleeve 55 is connected to a plurality of segments 57a which are interlocked or intere'ngaged with an enlarged collar or abutment. 44a which 'is threaded onto the lower end of the mandrel or support 14a; 7 The operation of this .form of the invention is substantially the same as that of the form hereinbefo're described. When the tubing 19 and its extension 19b are rotated, the anchoring assembly A is held stationary V The slip carrier sleeve of the a e by its friction springs. assembly is keyed through a pin 59 and slotfitl to the lower expander 32, and'said lower expander is keyed through pin 53 and groove :54 to the mandrel 14a,:where-.

by said mandrel is maintained stationary. Thus,ras the tubing and its extension 10b are rotated the mandrel 14d is caused to travel longitudinally in an upward direction with respect to the anchoring assembly A and the packer unit B. Such upward relative movement of the mandrel applies an endwise force to the packing sleeve B through the abutment or enlargement 44a, which force is transmitted to the slips of the anchoring assembly to set said slips and to thereafter distort the packing sleeve 55 radially outwardly into sealing position.

In some instances, it might be desirable to provide a double packer arrangement, that is, a packer unit above the anchoring assembly as well as below said assembly, and such arrangement is illustrated in Figure 7. In this case the anchoring assembly A and the lower packer unit B are employed. Instead of connecting the extension 17a of the upper expander 16 of the anchoring assembly A to the collar 51, as in Figure 5, this extension is connected to a retaining collar 61, which collar has connection with retaining segments 62 of an upper annular packing element 63. The upper end of the packing element has connection with a tubular body 64 which is rotatably connected to the tubing extension 10b by ball bearings 65. A confining sleeve 66 has its upper end connected in the bore of the body 64 and said sleeve extends axially through the bore of the packing element with its lower end being slidable Within the bore of the tubular extension 17a of the anchoring assembly.

The operation of this form is identical to the form shown in Figures and 5A in that as the tubing is rotated, the inner mandrel or support 14a is moved longitudinally upwardly with respect to the packer units and anchoring assembly. The endwise force which is applied to the lower end of the lower packing unit is transmitted upwardly through the anchoring assembly A and to the lower end of the upper packing element 63. This results in a distortion of the upper packing element, a setting of the slips, and a distortion of the lower packing unit. In all forms of the invention the device is set and released by a rotation of the tubing and a positive mechanical force is applied to the packing elements to effect their radial distortion.

I claim:

A well packer including, a tubular support adapted to be lowered on a well pipe, an anchoring assembly surrounding the support and movable within limits longitudinally relative thereto, said assembly including expansible gripping slips, an expander movable relative to the slips for expanding the same and frictional means for holding the assembly against rotation within the well bore, a packer unit also surrounding the support and secured to the anchoring assembly, said unit including an annular resilient packer adapted to be deformed radial- 1y outwardly into sealing position, an enlarged abutment attached to the support and having means for engaging one end of the packer for applying a force -to said packer when the support is moved longitudinally with respect to the packer and the anchoring assembly, said force imparting movement to the slip expander to expand the slips and also causing a radial expansion of said packer, a plurality of first coarse threads on the tubular support, a plurality of second coarse threads on an element forming a part of said anchoring assembly, said first and second coarse threads being loosely threadedly connected together and being complementary, rotation of the first and second coarse threads relative to each other imparting a longitudinal movement to the tubular support relative to the anchoring assembly to set the slips and de-' form the packer radially outwardly, and means connecting one of said coarse threads to the well pipe whereby rotation may be imparted thereto by the pipe to effect relative rotation between the two coarse threads and wherein the first and second coarse threads loosely threadedly connected comprise relatively coarse left-hand threads whereby longitudinal movement of the tubular element is efiected by left-hand rotation of the pipe, and a clutch means interposed between the well pipe and the anchoring assembly and adapted to be engaged upon right-hand rotation of the pipe to allow the anchoring assembly and packer unit to be rotated simultaneously with the pipe.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,303,091 Mack May 6, 1919 2,221,204 Santiago Nov. 12, 1940 2,248,211 Young July 8, 1941 2,300,438 Spang Nov. 3, 1942 2,331,532 Bassinger Oct. 12, 1943 2,578,900 Regan Dec. 18, 1951 

